The headless bodies of goblins fall on the ground. Rona turns to me with a shocked expression on her face.
"Why did you do that? I could have killed them."
She is right there was no need for me to step up. At some time she could have killed those goblins.
"We don't have time. Get ready."
She looks at me with a strange expression.
"What do you mean…"
Squeak!
Just as Rona was about to ask she heard a loud noise. It is the noise of a strong monster. She can tell that monster on another level compared to the goblins.
Shrrr!
A few seconds later a hulking monster with green skin and boar-like face came into view. He is over three metres tall.
Just like her time with the rabbit her entire body freezes as the monster draws near.
'How can we fight something this strong. Can Elite… No, the monster is too strong; we don't stand a chance.'
Rona's legs give out and she falls on the ground. The monster is just a few metres away from them.
"The strong ones are here."
She hears the calm and soft voice of Elite. The voice has some sort of strength which causes the fear in her heart to vanish a little.
For a second she had hoped that Elite might be strong enough to fight that monster but she put that thought away.
'No matter how strong he is. He is a pioneer just like me.'
She looks at the orc ready to accept her fate and die.
Swoosh!
But then something cuts through the wind and pierces a hole through the head of the orc.
But that thing's momentum does not diminish as it charges straight to Rona's heart.
Tss!
But before it can pierce through her something catches it.
Rona looks at the arrow in front of her heart caught in Elite's hand.
"What?"
The sturdy legs of the orc give way as it falls to its knees. The sound of an orc falling returns her to her senses as she backs away.
I clench my fist and snap the arrow in two and look in the direction of the archer.
"I don't think this sort of welcome is appropriate. She could have died." I say with a smile.
Bling!
Far away a green light flash and an arrow charges at me with terrifying speed.
"Well not very friendly."
I sigh and just before the arrow can pierce through my head I catch it with my left hand.
A shockwave passed through me making a long mark on the ground behind me.
Twack!
I again break the arrow in two and throw it away.
"Just show yourself why you annoy me so much."
This time there is a movement instead of an arrow someone jumps a couple of dozen metres away.
And it's a girl with vibrant fiery red hair and piercing golden-yellow eyes.
She wears a white, wrap-style top under a deep blue hooded mantle. The cloak is trimmed with gold embroidery held together by a metallic clasp.
She is dressed in a dark, high-waisted pleated skirt with black thigh-high stockings held up by detailed garters with gold hardware.
She has black fingerless gloves that extend past her elbows. And she is holding a white bow in her hand.
Without even uttering a word she points her bow at me.
"Sigh! How annoying."
I put strength in my legs and take a step forward.
Ivara looks at her foe with caution. The boy in front has caught her arrows two times now.
Although she wasn't using her full strength, the force behind those arrows is not something a pioneer on the first layer can withstand.
She has been hunting orcs with the princess. And in the last hunt, they discovered an orc general.
So, instead of killing him they let him run away. The reason is really simple orcs are a species that hold grudges.
To take revenge on them he will return to his lord. And they will be able to find his location.
Then a minor problem arose: their path was blocked by two pioneers. But she was confident that the orc general would take care of them.
But her mind changed as her eyes fell on two pioneers. Since childhood, she has been able to distinguish invisible aspects of individuals.
That's why she swore loyalty to the princess. But the same sense is telling her the blue-haired girl and golden-haired boy are also extraordinary.
Especially the boy. She can't explain it but he feels the same yet different from her princess. So she decided to test it.
She fired her first arrow to kill that girl but it was stopped by the boy. The second time she used almost all of her strength but he still caught the arrow without any harm.
Now she wants to test him some more. So this time she decides to use all her strength but before she can even load her arrow he disappears from her sight.
"You are not friendly I see."
She hears a voice behind her and freezes.
'So fast I couldn't even follow.' At that time it became certain 'I can't win.'
So instead of him Ivara points her bow at the girl. And a green arrow appeared on her bow string.
"I won't recommend it."
The voice spoke again but she decided to fire the arrow.
But then her vision changed. Instead of a girl with blue hair, her vision fell on the blue sky.
'What happened?'
Ivara's brain can't process what is happening. She blinks her eyes a few times in confusion.
"This bow is not your everyday item. It is a graded armament."
This time the voice makes her return to her senses.
She gets up and looks at Elite with fury.
"Give it back."
"Oh, you can also talk."
Instead of answering, the girl dashes forward and tries to grab her bow. But the only thing she can catch is empty air.
"What?"
"Hey, that's rude. It seems no one taught you manners."
This statement caused Ivara to flare up. A green aura radiates from her fists as she throws a punch at his face.
A surprise flash in my eyes mixed with excitement as the punch drew near. Instead of blocking I extend my left palm and her punch smashes into it.
Crack!
The ground beneath shattered as a shockwave spread in all directions.
Rona uses her hands to protect herself from the wind and looks at this scene with amazement and fear.
Ivara's eyes widen as her fist is caught in her opponent's hand. This time she has used all her strength.
The power in her fist is enough to kill an orc general a few times but he caught her fist effortlessly.
"How is that possible? Who the hell are you?" She says with disbelief.
"Hold it."
I give her bow back to her. She looks at me warily and asks.
"What are you plotting?"
I smile "Nothing, don't you want it"
With doubt in her mind, Ivara accepted the bow back. Even if there is a conspiracy she will still take that bow it is her most cherished
object.
"Don't think too much. Your bow may be a graded armament but it has no appeal in my eyes. The ones I have are many times better."
Ivara felt insulted but she held it in. In a fight, she has no chance against him. In her eyes, he looks like an immeasurable wall.
"But I do have a question."
'I knew it. There is no free lunch in this world.' She says to herself. She thinks for a second and says.
"Since you returned my bow back to me. I will answer your one question. But there are limits to what I can answer."
I smile and ask what I am curious about.
"That power you used just now. What was it?"
Ivara is stunned as if a bolt of lightning has struck her. Not because he asked something outrageous but.
"What sort of question is that?"
I tilt my head in confusion.
"Is that question something you can't ask?"
Ivara shakes her head and says "It's just that why are you asking such a basic question. Are you from some backwaters?"
'I understand, so that power is common knowledge in this tree. Too bad the system has not appeared since the start of the test. I am pretty sure the system must have knowledge of it.'
I look at her and say with a serious tone.
"Just answer my question."
Ivara wants to ask something but she decides not to.
"That power I used is called 'Epik'."
"Epik… I see."
I want to ask her more about the power called Epik but I feel something.
Slink!
I turn around quickly and draw my sword in the blink of an eye and cut through a white slash coming at me.
The white slash divide in two and massive shockwaves burst forth. Ivara beside me takes a few steps back and Rona, who is standing some distance away from us, flies backwards and crashes into a tree.
She coughs blood from her mouth but I can tell her injuries are not that grave. Then I turn to look at the culprit.
A girl with white hair and eyes with a slender but athletic build holding a katana in her hand. She has pale light-toned skin and an extremely pretty face.
She is the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. Rona and the red-haired girl are also beautiful but she is on another level.
She wears a varsity-style jacket with a black torso and white sleeves, inside it she wears a black crop top under a varsity-style jacket. There are striped ribbed cuffs at the wrists and waist.
And with it, she is wearing dark, form-fitting athletic shorts and white mid-calf socks with black stripes at the top.